Original recipes and photos with a hearty measure of facts, family, inspiration and humor. Everything food. Some reviews of area restaurants, some whimsical prose for reading pleasure.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

New Food Finds by Word of Mouth!

With all the technology at our fingertips today from computers to 4G speed phones and even billboards, word of mouth is still one of the most effective ways to 'spread the word'. Granted once it is spread by mouth, it will then be expedited via the previous methods mentioned. My sister Linda told me about some clam strips she'd run across in a Dollar Tree, that's right, not the Dollar General, which has low prices, but everything is not necessarily a dollar. She commented that the clam strips, when prepared according to the directions on the box, were magnificent! I saw some yesterday in a dollar store in Danville, and picked up a couple boxes for myself. I believed her from the start and when I tried them today, they were everything she said they would be and then some. I was amazed at the freshness and tenderness of the clams. They were truly restaurant quality and only one dollar. A company called La Monica produces these gems and has put out several items since 1923. A man by the name of Pietro or Peter La Monica started with a seafood shop and has become the largest "Hand Shucking" clam operative in the U.S. It's definitely a diamond in the rough!

La Monica makes many other products, but I haven't tried the others yet, but I am sure that if they're anything like these clam strips, they 're super awesome!
The Dollar Tree is pretty amazing in itself, because some of them carry a frozen foods section. Among the frozen foods are breaded chicken products, fresh frozen chicken thighs, ribeye steaks, lobster sliders, heads-on shrimp, and various breakfast items like turkey bacon, breakfast burritos and sausage links and crumbles. The variety these stores provide these days is godsend, especially if your budget get tight, and prices are sky high everywhere. It's good to know you can still have your 'steak'and eat it too! Surf and Turf for 2 bucks is hard to beat!